''About the Little Red Riding Hood'' () is a 1977

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

two-part musical TV movie based on the ideas of

Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , , ; 12 January 162816 May 1703) was a French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales, published in his ...

and directed by

Leonid Nechayev Leonid Alexeyevich Nechayev (; 3 May 1939 – 24 January 2010) was a Russian children's film director.Елена ЮринскаяПапа Лёня: Скончался кинорежиссёр Леонид Нечаев. Российская газ� ...

. The story is a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

of the tale of

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" () is a fairy tale by Charles Perrault about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th-century European Fable, folk tales. It was later retold in the 19th-century by the Broth ...

. The film is a

deconstruction In philosophy, deconstruction is a loosely-defined set of approaches to understand the relationship between text and meaning. The concept of deconstruction was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who described it as a turn away from ...

of the classic fairy tale. The manner in which the characters of the wolves is portrayed is different from the original story, as the wolves are viewed as human beings throughout the film. They are akin to a family of forest hermits or a clan of bandits.

Plot

The story takes place one year after the well-known story of Little Red Riding Hood. The wolf, who had been killed by the woodcutter, is revealed to have left behind family and friends who now wish to get revenge on Little Red. The deceased wolf's mother pays his friend, Lean Wolf to take her other son, Fat wolf and together catch Little Red Riding Hood. Lean Wolf make Little Red Riding Hood believe that her grandmother has fallen ill again. Unaware that her grandmother is not truly ill, Little Red Riding Hood sets out through the forest to go visit her, meeting the wolves in disguise and other people on her journey. The little girl manages to foil all of the plans that the wolves devise to catch her. They try changing into multiple disguises that will deceive Little Red Riding Hood into believing that they are kind and friendly, but in the end, they get carried away playing her games and continually fail to catch her. Wolf cub, the deceased wolf's son, who spends his time reading, argues with his grandmother that Little Red Riding Hood did nothing to deserve his father's attack. He is clearly opposed to taking revenge on anyone for the things that have happened and prefers to have nothing to do with his vengeful wolf family. His grandmother, angry with his rebelliousness, burns his book, which sends the cub into tears, and he runs away from home. On her travels, Little Red Riding Hood meets with ever more obstacles, such as a young, spoiled boy who wishes to take Little Red Riding Hood as his possession so he can play with her whenever he wishes. He locks her in a room, but she is saved by Lean Wolf and Fat Wolf, who are now dressed as stately women ("we are your grandmother's friends!"), but are waiting with a sack to snatch her up. Wolf Cub takes the sack and foils their plans. The cub tries to hint at Little Red Riding Hood that her grandmother is not truly ill, but she doesn't understand and continues on her way, and again the two wolves attempt to catch her. However, Fat Wolf has grown attached to Little Red Riding Hood and does not want to capture her. Little Red later learns, from a shepherd boy who had conspired with the wolves, that her newfound companions are indeed the wolves. Upset and frustrated by this news, she swaps clothes with the shepherd and gets the Lean Wolf to confirm his identity. When they asked her to fetch some water, she instead brought the wolves a sleeping potion made of poppies, and they were put to sleep. Wolf Cub fights the shepherd boy and returns Little Red Riding Hood's clothes. While seeking help, Little Red Riding Hood encounters a brave and proud hunter, who in reality is a coward. He wishes to shoot the wolves while they are asleep, but the girl stops him because she wishes to take the wolves to her village to be judged and so they can repent. From the little rich boy and Red Riding Hood's grandmother, the people from the village learn of the trouble and come to Little Red Riding Hood's aid. They intend to hurt the wolves, but Little Red does not wish them any harm. She allows the wolves to flee.

Awards

The actress playing the main role of Little Red Riding Hood was a laureate of the

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize () was one of the Soviet Union’s highest civilian honours, awarded from its establishment in September 1966 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It recognised outstanding contributions in the fields of science, mathem ...

in literature and arts in 1978 for her acting in this film.

Cast

* Yana Poplavskaya as Little Red Riding Hood *

Evgeni Evstigneev Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevstigneyev (; 9 October 1926 — 4 March 1992) was a prominent Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, theatre pedagogue, one of the founders of the Moscow Sovremennik Theatre. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in ...

as Star Counter * Dmitri Iosifov as Wolf Cub *

Rina Zelyonaya Ekaterina Vasilyevna Zelyonaya (); ( — 1 April 1991, Moscow), better known by her stage name Rina Zelyonaya, was a Soviet actress, singer and comedian. She was named People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1970. Biography Ekaterina Zelyonaya was bor ...

as Grandma *

Vladimir Basov Vladimir Pavlovich Basov (28 July 192317 September 1987) was a Soviet Russian actor, film director and screenwriter. He was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1983. Biography Vladimir Basov was born in the Urazovo village, Voronezh Governor ...

as Loan Wolf *

Nikolay Trofimov Nikolay Nikolaevich Trofimov (; 21 January 1920, Sevastopol — 7 November 2005, St. Petersburg) was a Soviet and Russian theater and film actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1990). Biography Nikolay Trofimov was born into a working-class family. ...

as Small Fat Wolf *

Galina Volchek Galina Borisovna (Berovna) Volchek (; 19 December 1933 – 26 December 2019) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actress, theater director and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1989) and Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation (2017) ...

as Mother Wolf *

Rolan Bykov Rolan Antonovich Bykov (October 12, 1929October 6, 1998) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, director, screenwriter and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1990). Early life Rolan Bykov was born to Anton Mikhailovich Bykov and Ol ...

as Hunter *

Stefaniya Stanyuta Stefanija Michajłaŭna Staniuta (; 30 April 1905 – 6 November 2000) was a Belarus–Soviet theater and movie actress. She was awarded as the 1988 People's Artist of the USSR. Stefanija was born on April 30, 1905, in Minsk in the family of t ...

as 1st evil old woman *

Mariya Barabanova Mariya Pavlovna Barabanova () (November 3, 1911, in Saint Petersburg – March 7, 1993, in Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actress. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1991). Filmography * '' Late for a Date'' (1936) – Mail deliver ...

as 2nd evil old woman * Maria Vinogradova as 3rd evil old woman * Yuri Belov as Grandad * Aleksandra Dorokhina as Lady *

Georgi Georgiu Georgi may refer to: * Georgi (given name) * Georgi (surname) See also *Georgy (disambiguation) *Georgii (disambiguation) Georgii may refer to: ;Given name * Georgii Zantaraia (born 1987), Ukrainian judoka of Georgian origin *Georgii Karpechenko ...

as Gentleman *Inna Stepanova as Kid

References

External links

* {{Little Red Riding Hood 1970s musical fantasy films 1970s fantasy adventure films 1970s children's fantasy films 1970s children's adventure films 1970s Soviet films 1970s Russian-language films Soviet musical fantasy films Soviet fantasy adventure films Soviet children's fantasy films Russian children's fantasy films Russian musical fantasy films Soviet television films Belarusfilm films Belarusian musical films Soviet-era Belarusian films Films directed by Leonid Nechayev Films based on Little Red Riding Hood 1977 musical films 1977 television films